No-Cook

A simple uncooked sauce of fresh herbs brings aliveness to the table. Salsa verde (green sauce) is a versatile sauce of parsley and olive oil flavored with shallots, capers, and lemon zest. The basic recipe can be enhanced with additional ingredients to make it more pungent and complex. It will brighten and complement many dishes, especially grilled vegetables, meat, and fish.

Garlic vinaigrette is the dressing I make most often. The quantities that follow are only an approximate guide because garlics, vinegars, and oils vary so much in strength and intensity. The first step in making a vinaigrette is to macerate garlic in vinegar and salt. The vinegar softens the raw taste of the garlic, and the salt tames the sharp edge of the vinegar. Sometimes I like to mix different kinds of vinegar; a few drops of balsamic vinegar can temper a wine vinegar that’s too strong. Taste for balance and adjust by adding more salt or vinegar; it should be neither too salty nor too acidic. The mixture should taste delicious by itself.

This is a salad that David Chang (page 80) made in the Green Kitchen. David’s cooking often applies traditional Asian flavorings and methods to the foods of this continent. This salad is similar to a tomato and mozzarella salad, but it is quite different and surprising in its combination of flavors.

This is only one example of the many summer fruit compotes that turn combinations of fruit into delectable desserts. All the fruits of summer—plums, peaches, apricots, nectarines, cherries, figs—can be cut up and soaked together in their own juices with a little sugar and lemon juice. Summer fruit compotes are delicious by themselves; on pancakes or waffles; with almond cake or angel food cake or a plate of cookies; or with ice cream, whipped cream, or sherbet.

Many fish can be served raw as tartare: tuna, albacore, halibut, and salmon, for example. It is exceptionally important to use impeccably fresh fish; be sure to tell your fishmonger that you intend to eat the fish raw. At home, keep the fish chilled over ice at all times. Cut the fish on a clean board with a sharp knife, and put the cut-up fish in a bowl nestled in a larger bowl filled with ice. For an ample appetizer, figure on 1/2 pound of fish for 4 people; you will need more if serving the tartare as a main dish. To cut the fish, first slice it very thin across the grain, removing any fibrous connective tissue. Cut the slices into a thin julienne, and then cut the julienne crosswise into fine dice. The fish can be cut ahead and covered tightly with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. Stir in the other ingredients just before serving. Serve fish tartare on little croutons or endive leaves, or on a bed of simply dressed greens.

If beautifully fresh sardines are not available, substitute mackerel, fresh anchovies, or thinly sliced tuna.

This recipe is only for tomatoes that are at their absolute peak: dead ripe and full of flavor.

This is not a particularly traditional version of this recipe, but if you have ripe delicious tomatoes, it makes a beautiful piquant summer soup—a sort of liquid salad—that’s worth all the grating, pounding, and dicing. For a light summer meal, add a few shrimp—or other fish or shellfish—to the soup.

Tabbouleh is a Lebanese salad made with bulgur wheat, chopped herbs, and tomatoes. It is a spectacular salad, green and fresh, with more herbs than grain. Bulgur wheat is made from wheat grains that have been parboiled or steamed and then dried. It requires only quick cooking or soaking.

Fennel makes a very delicate salad when sliced paper-thin. It can be difficult to cut the fennel very thin with a knife, so instead I reach for my plastic Japanese mandoline. But watch your fingertips and use the guard!

There are many varieties of cucumbers, each with its own flavor and texture. I especially like Armenian, Japanese, and lemon cucumbers.

Use green cabbage, red cabbage, savoy cabbage, or napa cabbage. Each one is tasty, and each will make a slightly different salad.

My daughter always loved this salad and I would often make a tiny version for her lunch and change the shapes for variety: grated, thin curls (cut with a peeler), matchsticks, or slices.

Look for all the different colors, sizes, and flavors of tomatoes at the farmers’ market all through tomato season—July, August, and September. Mix them together, sliced or wedged, for a strikingly beautiful salad.

There are two varieties of persimmons available on the market, fuyu and hachiya. Fuyu are round and flat and are eaten while still crisp; they make colorful and tasty salads. Hachiya are elongated with a pointy tip, and are tannic until ripe and very, very soft.

Crème fraîche is heavy cream that has been cultured and thickened with a live enzyme like the one found in buttermilk. It is thick and smooth with a rich tangy flavor. Th e advantage of cooking with crème fraîche (as opposed to sour cream) is that it will not separate when boiled. Crème fraîche is easy to make and is amazingly versatile. Stir it into a vinaigrette for a creamy, tangy dressing. Flavor it with herbs and a touch of salt for a perfect garnish for a soup. Use it to thicken and enrich a pasta sauce or braise. A potato gratin is sublime when made with crème fraîche. For dessert it can be sweetened with sugar, honey, or maple syrup to make a simple sauce. It can be whipped to make a soft whipped cream (be sure not to overwhip it; it will become grainy, just like heavy cream). Mix with melted chocolate for a great frosting (page 386). And it makes delicious ice cream.

Rocket and arugula are both common names for the spicy salad plant Eruca vesicaria, which has dark green, lobed leaves that taste nutty and peppery.